The Conjoint Quest for a Liberal Positive Program: 'Old Chicago', Freiburg and Hayek

Hamburg Institute of International Economics Research Paper 109

38 Pages Posted: 20 Jan 2017

See all articles by Ekkehard A. Koehler

Ekkehard A. Koehler

University of Siegen - Department of Economics; University of Freiburg - College of Economics and Behavioral Sciences; Walter Eucken Institute

Stefan Kolev

Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI)

Date Written: July 10, 2011

Abstract

James M. Buchanan’s contributions of 2009-2011 to the post-crisis debate in political economy emphasized the necessity to re-examine the legacy of the “Old Chicago” School. The focus of the current paper is, by following Buchanan's plea, to explore the central topoi in the 1930s debates of the Chicago School as seen from the work of Henry C. Simons and discuss the impact of these debates on the academic arena on both sides of the Atlantic. F.A. Hayek is highlighted as the focal scholar who possibly transmits these topoi that influence the rise of Freiburg ordoliberalism in Germany from the mid-1930s onwards. We revisit the Mont Pèlerin Society 1947 first meeting’s minutes and papers and show in detail the proximity in mind of “Old Chicago”, Hayek and the Freiburg School ordoliberals. This comparative analysis includes the general rule-based approaches to political economy as well as economic policy recommendations, especially in the fields of competition policy and monetary policy.

Keywords: Chicago School, Freiburg School, Henry C. Simons, Friedrich August von Hayek, Walter Eucken, James M. Buchanan, Ordoliberalism, Neoliberalism

JEL Classification: A11, B25, B31, E52, L40, P16

Suggested Citation

Koehler, Ekkehard A. and Kolev, Stefan, The Conjoint Quest for a Liberal Positive Program: 'Old Chicago', Freiburg and Hayek (July 10, 2011). Hamburg Institute of International Economics Research Paper 109, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2888716 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2888716

Ekkehard A. Koehler (Contact Author)

University of Siegen - Department of Economics ( email )

Department of Economics
Hoelderlinstr. 3
Siegen, 57068
Germany

University of Freiburg - College of Economics and Behavioral Sciences ( email )

Freiburg, D-79085
Germany

Walter Eucken Institute ( email )

Goethestrasse 10
Freiburg, 79100
Germany

Stefan Kolev

Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) ( email )

Oberhafenstraße 1
Hamburg, DE 20097
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://https://stefan-kolev.de/

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